You are here

Articles Search

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (February 29, 2000 - Post-Courier/PINA Nius Online)---"Radio Bougainville is able to broadcast across the entire province for the first time since before the crisis," said Australian High Commissioner Nick Warner at the official opening of Radio Bougainville in Buka.

The Australian government, through its aid agency, AusAID, committed K 3 million to the repair and upgrading of radio transmitters in Hutjena and Rabaul, along with the supply of broadcasting and other equipment to the Hutjena studio.

Radio Bougainville provides a critical means of communication on Bougainville. With Radio Bougainville's enhanced capabilities, all Bougainvilleans will now be able to enjoy a full and reliable broadcasting service.

"Radio Bougainville has and will continue to play a key role in getting clear and accurate information to the people around the province. It provides Bougainvilleans with a chance to hear what's going on in respect of the...

It is ironical that a situation so potentially dangerous to the environment should occur just before a major police operation to stop litterbugs.

Fortunately the crew of the oil tanker moved quickly to contain the spill and minimize its effects on the sea and marine life.

Initial reports show that the tanker grazed a coral outcrop. This apparently led to the spillage.

All oil tankers are equipped with material to contain environmental disasters. Their crews are required to be intimate with standard safety procedures implemented in the unlikely event of a spillage. Evidently these skills were put to use yesterday. These measures are sufficient in the event of a minor accident.

But what happens if there is a larger spill? Do the authorities concerned have the expertise to take care of such a situation?

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (March 1, 2000)---Construction of the new West Tinian International Airport runway will be pushed through despite suspension of the groundbreaking on two occasions, according to Commonwealth Ports Authority (CPA) Executive Director Carlos H. Salas.

Mr. Salas was reacting to a letter from CPA Board Secretary Ray M. Cing expressing concern over the continued delay in construction.

The CPA initially informed the Tinian Legislative Delegation that the project would break ground not later than November 1999. The date was later moved to January 2000.

"January 2000 has already come to pass and groundbreaking is still nowhere in sight . . . CPA management seems to have continued to encounter delay after delay," Mr. Cing told the CPA executive director.

He was asking Mr. Salas to provide a "realistic schedule" for the groundbreaking of the project, and a report detailing the estimated...

APIA, Samoa (February 29, 2000 – Samoa Observer)---It's a sad story. There are so many people with disabilities in Samoa who all need special attention. They range from visual, hearing, and speech impairment to physical disabilities, slow learners with potential, behavioral and mental disorders.

In Samoa there are services that strive to provide for the needs of people with disabilities. These services have created opportunities for those less privileged to receive some form of education or tuition.

Here are three of them:

Loto Taumafai Education Centre

The Loto Taumafai Education Centre provides for the hearing impaired and the physically disabled.

They have classes for students with hearing and speech impairment where communication is through sign language. These are the same students that make up the well-known 'Silent World Theatre,' a performing arts group who have recently returned from a tour in New Zealand.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (February 28, 2000 – The National/PINA Nius Online)---Few will deny that broadcasting is an art, and one that at its best has the ability to reach the emotions of its listeners.

More than 50 years ago, the Australian Broadcasting Commission set up a radio station in Port Moresby that was to become famous as 9PA.

From that humble beginning, a short wave service through transmitters VLT and VLK was developed, and the signal from Port Moresby carried the first national broadcasts throughout Papua New Guinea.

Initially the service catered to foreigners working in the country, and since most of them in those days were from Australia, the programs had an avid audience.

News from home was always a priority, and entertainment programs had a definitely Australian outlook. The classic and long-running radio serial "Blue Hills," written by Gwen Meredith, was carried twice daily during the week, and Granny Bishop...

Tackling the difficulties faced by young people in the Pacific is such a mammoth task that health workers in the region are calling for all hands on deck.

By Mona Matepi

AVARUA, Rarotonga, Cook Islands (February 23, 2000 – Cook Islands News)---Education for all is what a report from UNDP and Fiji School of Medicine sees as the key to youth and health difficulties. The report, released only a week ago, is calling on key decision makers outside of the health sector to help in efforts to educate youth on the causes and possible impact of the human immuno-deficiency (HIV) virus. It says such a move would advance a "more effective multi-sectoral response in the region."

The joint report was based on the findings of UNDP's Linda Petersen and Dr. Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija of the Fiji School of Medicine Reproductive Health Training Program.

A statistical profile of Pacific Islands showed there are 1.4 million young people aged between 15 - 24 years, around 20...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.